Deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe steps aside amid reports of row with Donald Trump

The deputy director of the FBI is stepping down – a week after it was reported that President Donald Trump was lobbying for his ouster.

Andrew McCabe, who had been under fire from Republicans in recent months over perceived partisanship and bias, had indicated that he planned on stepping down as recently as December. Just last week, Mr Trump reportedly encouraged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to put pressure on FBI Director Christopher Wray to fire Mr McCabe. Mr Wray had reportedly been pressuring Mr McCabe to do just that, citing an upcoming inspector general report that examines the bureau's many investigations in 2016.

Mr McCabe will remain on the FBI payroll until mid-March, sources told NBC News, when he will be eligible to retire with full benefits.

The movement in the FBI follows roughly a month after Mr McCabe was thrashed by Mr Trump on Twitter, and also privately during a meeting in the Oval Office.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Monday that Mr Trump did not play a part in the decisions surrounding Mr McCabe's departure, and said that Mr Trump stands by his past statements about the departing deputy director.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that, when Mr Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey last year, Mr Trump met with Mr McCabe in the Oval and the President asked the FBI’s second in command who he had voted for in 2016.

During that meeting, Mr Trump also reportedly vented frustration with the fact that Mr McCabe’s wife, a Democrat, had received donations during her failed 2015 Virginia state Senate race from a political action committee run by a close ally to Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump’s 2016 opponent. Mr Trump aired those grievances once again on Twitter in December.

Mr Comey’s firing led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, whose team is investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and any ties the Trump campaign may have had with Moscow.

The New York Times reports that Mr Trump also tried to fire Mr Mueller last year, not long after he fired Mr Comey. He was stopped at the time by White House counsel Don McGahn.

Mr Trump, during his visit to Switzerland last week, called those reports “Fake News”.

The soon-to-be retirement of Mr McCabe marks the end of a long career in public service. Mr McCabe has served at the FBI since 1996, and has worked there during the tenures of both Mr Comey and Mr Mueller.

Mr Mueller's investigation has quickly expanded over the past year, and has resulted in at least four indictments of officials connected to Mr Trump's 2016 campaign.

That includes the indictments of former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates, both of whom pleaded not guilty to the charges. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was also indicted by Mr Mueller's team, as was former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.

Mr Mueller's team is also reportedly seeking an interview with Mr Trump himself, and has previously interviewed Mr Sessions as a part of their probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

It is unclear if Mr Trump will eventually agree to an interview with the Mueller team, and under what circumstances the President might agree to doing so.